To read Day 1 ~Tokyo City Tour & Kobe Beef; go to
http://superbiker48.blogspot.com/2013/04/tokyo-city-tour-kobe-beef-4-april-2013.html
to know more :)
6am local time....Ring Ring...picks up phone and said "hello?" *music in the background*. That's my Hilton, Tokyo wake up call. Perhaps if I had said "Moshi, moshi" maybe someone would answer me :) (tongue in cheek)
At Hilton's coffee house, I had the best mixed omelet ever! Took the picture with the melted cheese oozing out but sadly...pictures not available. Read Day 1 to understand what happened. Back to the omelet - it was cooked just right with just the right combination of mixed ingredients, cheese oozing out, soft & moist on the inside and cooked to perfection on the outside! Kudos to the egg chef at Hilton, Tokyo. What a perfect way to start a fresh day. FYI, I also ate a banana....So???...Supposedly to be expensive in Tokyo, that's why MUST eat. I ate it for fibre but since the tour guide says it is expensive, might as well eat it, right?
Next in the itinerary was Shinjuku. Stated in itinerary but never visited! What??? Instead, we headed straight for Soba Making.
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| My sis-in-law Karen & I at the start of our Soba making |
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| Our petite Soba master with the strength of a sumo wrestler!!! |
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| Viola! Our handmade soba ready to be eaten! Of course it was delicious :) |
The 25 of us were divided into groups as the outlet only had 3 'gurus' to teach us the art of soba making. We had to take turns to try our hands in soba making step by step. But like most organisations, we also had 'management' people that doesn't dirty their hands but good in telling you what to do & what not to do! *eyes rolling* They are everywhere mind you!
We had a ball trying to emulate our guru, Much to her dismay, both teams under her watch had holes in the pasta! But she demurely & artfully saved us from embarrassment by helping us to 'stitch' up the holes by pinching the dough and rolling it out to perfection. Hey....its our first attempt ok? Ahem....We ate what we made for lunch, needless to say...it was goooood! Psssttt...its the sauce that complements the soba as well as the huge tempura prawns....yummylicious.
Next, Oshino Hakkai Village - where 8 spring pools gush forth, fed by currents that flows from Mt Fuji. If only I had pictures of it to show you how crystal clear the spring water is. Well, no point harping on things you have no control of. But it was great to witness groundnuts the size of a huge man's thumb! Again, we have to have the macha ice-cream at 300yen per cone (RM10.11), 50 yen(RM1.70) cheaper from the one I had in Tokyo.
After Oshino Hakkai Village, we were enroute to Mt Fuji!!! The world famous symbol of Japan. From a distance, Mt Fuji was mesmerising! The sheer beauty of the mountain sent everyone in the bus oooh-ing and aahh-ing and needless to say... clicking away. I was not to be sidelined and did what all tourist did...click, click, click endangering myself in the coach moving from one seat to another to get the best angle.....for nought.
The opening act before Mt Fuji was luncheon at Lake Kawaguchiko (see pix below). It was here that my idiotic camera went bonkers on me and deleted over 200+ pictures I took of Tokyo and first part of today!!! Enough said, I went nearby in search of Sakura to compensate for all the lost pictures. This lake reminds me of Queenstown, New Zealand. Of course, Lake Kawaguchiko pales in comparison BUT it does have its own unique beauty.
Did you know that as you climb the road to Mt Fuji, there is a short 10-20seconds stretch of road that is called the Melody road because if you keep really quiet, sssshhhh..... you can actually hear soft music as the vehicle passes over it! Amazing!!!
It's April and this picture depicts the route leading to Mt Fuji.
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| YES! I have 'conquered' Mt Fuji at Station 4. |
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| As we waited for the clouds to clear....snap snap snap |
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| Clear view of Mt Fuji, after several attempts |
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| Mt Fuji and me...love at first sight. |
By far, the bestest of best corn my sis-in-law and I have ever eaten. The roasted corn was sweet & juicy without any addictives. Am salivating just thinking about it. Oh yes...the size is yes, you have guessed it - HUGE! Price : 350yen (RM11.80)
We put a night at Yatsugatake Royal Hotel.
This is the place I unveiled my own 'Guinness book of record' by going naked (first time ever!!!) just to experience soaking in the in-house hot springs spa. Ahem....no cameras allowed....so no photos, pleaseeee I am saving you the agony of having to puke after seeing all those naked photos!!! But I like the fact that they gave us nice attires to walk to the spa with only a hand towel to cover our precious privates...hehehehe....
What happened at the spa? What? ZzzzzZzzzz.... *censored*
My take out from today's visit :
- Enjoyed the soba making. Easy to eat, yet so much work just to make it. More work than making 'pan mee'! Makes me appreciate eating soba more. Not that I was a fan of cold noodles but my perspective has changed since the day I laid my own hands on the flour...two types of flour to make soba, did you know that? Well, now you do.
- Japanese people are clean people. They clean after they eat irrespective whether you are patron in a restaurant or in a hotel, how civic minded can that be? Awesome!
- Being naked isn't that scary once you have psych yourself. Really!! I did it and I will do it again. I am proud of my spares, cellulites, moles and scars! Ooops, did I just describe myself? Ewwww.....gross!
- I love the toilets in Japan!! They are very clean with heated seats during winter & spring so that you don't get a frozen butt! So so comforting. Some even have music too. Awesome, right?
- Due to high living standards, things are costly. But if I were to be earning in GBP or USD...ahhh...so affordable!
- An enchanting mountain that never cease to mesmerize everyone that first set their eyes on it, that's Mt Fuji.
Meet me again tomorrow to know what happens on Day3...
Until then....
世話をする
Sewa o suru meaning Take care.
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